Archive for the ‘Productivity’ Category

High Personal Availability Is a Bug, Not a Feature

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Don’t get we wrong, there are many aspects of real-time goodness I love.  But the web used to be something we do and now it’s part of who we are.  So isn’t it time to reassess how we interact with it ?

I read this article a few times this weekend and think it’s a complete piece of bliss.

It struck a chord with me, as I’ve been contemplating similar things like: is my blanket high personal availability killing my productivity and peace? I think it is.

It’s why I dropped using AIM as a communication platform, it’s why I don’t always answer my phone when it rings. It’s why my email isn’t open every time I’m in front of the computer.

Why? It helps my productivity, helps my brain focus and it helps me get a good flow going for my work so I can give more to my clients, myself and those I love.

Of course, that’s not to say ignore everything. The point is to prioritize everything.

Definitely recommended reading.

Posted in Productivity | Comments

Jason Fried on Bloat

Monday, November 16th, 2009

In the software world, the first, second, and third versions of any product are really pretty good, because everyone can use them. Then companies start adding more and more stuff to keep their existing customers happy. But you end up dying with your customer base, because the software is too complicated for a newcomer.

- Jason Fried in INC

An all-around good read, full of gems like that.

Tags:
Posted in Design, Productivity | Comments

In Which I Share My Love of Screen Jelly

Monday, August 17th, 2009

Screen Jelly

I’ve tried to do screen recordings, video walkthroughs and the like before. They’ve always required software, and that software requires multiple steps to use. Granted, some screencasting tools are pretty nice. Screen Jelly, however, has seemed do something different: they’ve eliminated cost and complexity and made it dead simple to do screen recording.

You’ve got 3 minutes to record whatever you need and share it in a video. You then then tweet, email or embed it on your site. Now it won’t be a hassle to record walkthroughs! Bonus: I can mark these as private and only share them with people who have the URL.

Tags: ,
Posted in Productivity | Comments

Handy Widgets for Designers

Friday, October 24th, 2008

One of the things I like the most about the OS X Dashboard is how it can help with your productivity. I wanted to share a three really handy widgets that can really help you get your designey things done quicker.

1) Lorem Ipsum

While I think you would do well to use actual copy wherever possible, sometimes it just isn’t an option. This widget can easily create a word, phrase, sentence, paragraph or custom length lorem ipsum phrase with just a couple of clicks. Super handy! (Download Link)

(more…)

Posted in Design, Productivity | Comments